   Infection Prevention and SafetyState oral health programs have a shared responsibility for the safe delivery of oral health care. ASTDD is partnering with the Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) to link states to technical assistance, educational materials, information on policy development and other resources on infection prevention and safety. In The News – January 2012 Flu season is upon us. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older should receive an annual flu shot. The CDC has stressed that healthy people who were immunized against flu last year should also be immunized again this year. Universal immunization of healthcare personnel has also emerged as an important patient safety issue. More information can be obtained from the CDC, APIC and OSAP Web sites. The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) has launched the first national accreditation program for public health departments. PHAB has launched this accreditation program as part of its vision to create a reliable national standard for public health. Click here for more information and to access the PHAB Press Release. The CDC has released A National Strategic Plan for Public Health Preparedness and Response. The plan outlines 8 objectives with 16 strategies to be achieved by 2020. It is a guide for CDC, the public health system as a whole, and stakeholders to secure the health of the nation and attain the plan’s collective 2020 vision of "people’s health protected – public health secured". You shake a hand, pass a credit card, or touch a door handle. In an instant, a lethal virus can be transmitted. That is the premise of Contagion, the new blockbuster movie about a global pandemic. OSAP recently ran a contest based on Contagion. The Contagion page on the OSAP website features an infection prevention IQ test to see how much you know about influenza and its spread. The site also offers free online educational toolkits, links to maps showing current outbreaks, pandemic influenza resources, and additional movie tie-in materials such as posters, activities, and the movie trailer. August 2011-The ASTDD-OSAP Infection Prevention and Safety Project has identified a number of resources that may be helpful to State Oral Health Programs impacted by flooding or hurricanes. These resources are available to download at no cost from the OSAP web site.
For further information about Infection Prevention and Safety Guidelines, Education and Training, Policies and Other Resources see the Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention.
A non-profit organization, OSAP is a unique group of dental practitioners, allied healthcare workers, industry representatives, and other interested persons with a collective mission to promote infection control and related science-based health and safety policies and practices. OSAP supports this commitment to dental workers and the public through quality education and information dissemination. OSAP is a trusted source of information for dental educators, consultants, clinicians, researchers and policy makers that provides timely updates, advanced education, innovative training tools, referenced answers to vexing infection control questions and proven strategies to address compliance challenges. Its checklists, issue foci and position papers provide practical, scientifically sound information and recommendations on specific issues like H1N1, dental unit water quality, "green" infection control, instrument processing, surface asepsis, percutaneous injuries, and much more. Examples of some of the tools include:
Other Safety ResourcesOther safety issues include ergonomics, eye protection, use of visible light cure units, noise control, handling of dental mercury, ventilation, nitrous oxide, radiation from dental x-rays, etc. American Dental Association Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Safety and Health Topics for Dentistry from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) USAF Dental Evaluation and Consultation Service Safety Net Dental Clinic Manual, Chapter 4, Section VIII |
